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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313856">Last Minute Surprise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis'>Jathis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Steward and the Sorcerer [32]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sofia the First (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Asexual Relationship, Fluff, Holidays, Humor, Kissing, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:01:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313856</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The castle wakes up to a surprise on Wassailia morning.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baileywick/Cedric the Sorcerer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Steward and the Sorcerer [32]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Last Minute Surprise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cedric waited until he was certain Baileywick was fast asleep before making his move. He slipped out of bed carefully, keeping an eye on the steward. He let out a sigh of relief once he was out of the bed and he changed from his sleeping clothes to his gloves, shirt, and pants. He looked over his shoulder at Baileywick once as he opened the door, making sure the other was still sleeping before he stepped out, closing the door behind himself with a soft click.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He headed to his tower. He looked up as he crossed the castle grounds and he whistled a sharp tune, holding up a hand. Rosemary the magpie landed on his arm a moment later and he smiled. “It’s time,” he told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cedric went straight to the basement under his workshop. He had been hiding a few things down there but now he could take them out. “Will you help me?” he asked his familiar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rosemary fluffed up her feathers before shaking them back down. She nodded her head, looking excited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get started then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baileywick woke up to an empty bed. The steward frowned, wondering where Cedric had gone as he dressed. He didn’t have the luxury of too much time to spend wondering about this; it was Wassalia morning and he needed to make sure any last minute decorations were put up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baileywick! Baileywick, come and see!” Violet opened the door, her eyes wide with excitement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Violet! What in the world..?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to come with me! You’ve got to see this!” the maid insisted, taking the royal steward by the hand and pulling him from his room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He let her pull him along, eyebrows raised in curiosity. What could have happened that would make the maid so excitable? “Is there some kind of emergency? I’m sure we can fix…” His words failed him as they stepped out into the main hallway. He could only look around with wide eyes, mindful to keep his mouth shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Someone must have spent the night doing this. We thought maybe it was you but even you couldn’t reach those high corners on the ceiling!” Violet laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, no this was certainly not my doing,” Baileywick softly agreed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Someone had heavily changed the decorations. All of the smaller trees were covered in ice lilies in place of regular baubles. Glittering crystals hung down from the ceiling, changing color based on where someone stood and looked at them. Candles of different shapes burned with brightly colored flames and it was discovered that the flames themselves did not burn when someone reached towards them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got to see what was done to the main tree,” Violet said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If this is just the hallway…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Wassailia tree was alive. Pomegranates, apples, and oranges hung from its once bare branches. When one was plucked, another grew in its place. More candles were placed between the fruit, making them sparkle as if they were simple decorations and not a growing thing. Ice lilies had been braided into long chains to replace tinsel, wrapped around the tree. A small cloud of snow circled the tree, looking as if it were real save for no mess on the floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He found the person responsible for this change in decorations when he looked around the room further. Cedric was fast asleep in a chair, his head tilted back as he snored. His wand lay on the ground, having fallen from his hand hours ago. Rosemary was asleep in his lap, a wing over her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baileywick smiled, gently shaking Cedric’s shoulder. “Cedric?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sorcerer woke with a snort, blinking as he sat up. “Hm? Oh…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning, dear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moaned, rubbing at his eyes as he yawned loud enough to wake Rosemary up. “G’morning…” he mumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Baileywick snorted, helping Cedric onto his feet. “You spent the whole night doing this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well I had to wait for you to fall asleep first so it wasn’t really the whole night, per se.” He blushed when Baileywick kissed him on the cheek, finally waking up fully for the other. “You like it?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love it,” Baileywick said with a smile. “It’s a wonderful Wassailia gift. Thank you, Cedric.” He raised an eyebrow when he saw the other swaying a little on his feet. He placed a steadying hand on his arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am exhausted,” Cedric declared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to go sleep in our actual bed now,” Cedric said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll let the Royal family know to let you sleep a little longer,” Baileywick promised. He brushed Cedric’s hair from his face, smiling at him. The sorcerer smiled and gently bumped their foreheads together in affection before he took Rosemary and headed for the bedroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slept until late afternoon and awoke to praise from everyone about his Wassalia fruit tree.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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